Posted By David Willow On Aug 29 2010 @ 7:29 pm In Fantasy | No Comments

We’re finally starting to wind down on the preseason and fantasy players are gearing up for the late drafts and scanning the waivers flagging potential pickups. Preseason can make a lot of fantasy owners nervous about some of their picks and other player’s values can shoot up quickly. Sometimes it’s an injury and sometimes it’s underperformance, but to win is to have your ear to the ground.

Case in point is Bernard Berrian, who will benefit from the absence of Sidney Rice and the ailing Percy Harvin. Berrian’s stock will be up in drafts as he may be looked to to fill the number one receiver role in Minnesota.

Leon Washington is someone to keep an eye on. His stock is rising as the possible number one back in Seattle and could be in line for the bulk of the workload. He would be a great value in standard and PPR leagues as well and would be even better if he is given goal line duties. He has been running with a purpose in preseason and feels that he has something to prove after be shipped out by the Jets.

Ben Watson has been quietly having a good preseason in Cleveland. With the receiving core for the Browns being less than stellar you can bet they will be looking to their tight ends and Watson is their best receiver at the position. He is going largely undrafted and will likely be available across the board.

Ahmad Bradshaw is poised to take over starting duties for the Giants and if he gets the spot he could put up some very respectable numbers. People are catching wind so his draft position will be up, but a lot of early drafts have seen him go undrafted. Don’t reach too far for him though as he will still be playing alongside Brandon Jacobs.

Derek Anderson could be getting the keys to the team in Arizona. Anderson has shown some issues with accuracy, but he would be a significant upgrade from the stagnant play of Matt Leinart who can’t seem to get the team moving offensively. Anderson is being given the start late in the preseason, but remember that when Leinart had the starting position to lose Ken Whisenhunt decided to start Kurt Warner late in the preseason and never looked back. Anderson isn’t Warner by any means, but he may serve as a reliable backup and the Cardinals have a favorable schedule. Don’t look to him as anything more than a backup behind your starting QB.

Joseph Addai suffered a concussion during the Colts preseason game against Green Bay and though he is playing it off, a lot of fantasy owners have got to be nervous about his health. Addai hasn’t been the epitome of durability over the seasons. So people should be flagging Donald Brown, either as a handcuff for Addai owners or for the deviant purposes of getting one over on a rival in your league. The Colts will be very cautious with Addai so you’ll probably have to wait until the first game of the season to see if he shows any signs of the injury.